Depths
by MaryandMerlin
Summary: This is a challenge which consists of many drabbles. Chapter 1 is a Bill/Fleur Sleeping Beauty!AU called 'Skin Deep' / Chapter 2 is a Fred/Luna fluff called 'Wonder' / Chapter 3 is a Fred/Hermione angst called 'Secret' / Chapter 4 is a Sirius angst called 'Civil War' / Chapter 5 is a Rose drama called 'Into the Spotlight'
1. Skin Deep

**Author's Note: I don't have a clue where this is going, I feel it is going to be a collection of one-shot drabbles that will be unconnected but I think probably worth a read! This is based on a Bill/Fleur - Sleeping Beauty, please enjoy!**

 **Prompts: Write a fairytale!AU**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise**

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Skin Deep

Bill hesitated on the threshold.

The room was exactly as he had envisioned, the image that he had coveted for the last few weeks as he battled his way through impossible odds. The bed was silhouetted against the dying rays of the setting sun that filtered through the room. The outline of a soft bed and sleeping figure was partially obscured by the gossamer curtain strung from the ceiling.

The scene was mysterious and beautiful, the atmosphere held more than a hint of promise. It was romantic, it was exactly what he had been looking for. She was the one he had been looking for, or at least he hoped so.

It was just, a little too close to perfect for his liking.

This moment had been built up in his head, he had chopped and battled his way to this woman but in this, the most important moment, he found himself faltering. Tripping at the finish line, questioning whether he could do this at all. The nerves and insecurities that should never touch a prince rose quickly to the surface and plagued his every thought, filling and choking his brain.

He moved slowly and carefully into the room. The dust had settled like a carpet during her slumber, silencing his steps and Bill held his breath as he approached the bed, for some reason he was terrified of disturbing anything. He reached forward and swept back the curtain, revealing the figure sleeping within.

Her skin was as smooth and as pale porcelain. Thick golden lashes rested gently on her cheekbones and fluttered as she slept and dreamt. Her lips were a light, delicate pink, parted slightly as she breathed deep and even and her thick, golden hair pillowed her head and swept down to her waist.

Bill's first thought was that she looked like a doll.

No human being could feasibly be that perfect and still be alive.

He didn't know if he would be able to keep up with her, if she would want him. Though if only true love's kiss could wake her, requited love would be a prerequisite. Bill shook his head, dispelling the stupid thought. The most important thing was that he release this poor woman from her curse, maybe then she could help him with his.

But what if she was a complete airhead? What if her beauty was only skin deep, and he would be trapped forever with a woman he couldn't hold a proper conversation with? So much hinged on this one moment, desperate to be perfect.

Bill sat gently on the edge of the bed and, hesitated. Could he live with the endless possibilities? Could he deal with the what ifs?

Would she be worth it?

Well, there was only one way to find out.

He bent at the waist, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips gently and firmly to hers.

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 **Much Love, MaryandMerlin x**


	2. Wonder

**Author's Note: I hope you all enjoy this chapter, it's a little bit of fluff and a lot of light! Cause who doesn't love that?**

 _ **Prompts:**_

 **Pixel Dungeon: **

**Depth 2 - Be cautious, since the dungeon is even more dangerous at night! [Prompts: circular, drunk, cat]**

 **Crimson potion used.**

 **WC: 500 exactly.**

 **Pirate Ship:**

 **Part 1 - Fred Weasley/Luna Lovegood**

 **Music Lesson**

 **Dynamics: Write a story in which there are no dialogue tags. So no, "he said," and other variations.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise!**

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Wonder

Fred leant casually against the doorframe of their quaint little house, the stray ginger tabby cat that they had adopted twisted and purred around his legs. The sun was bright and the breeze was pleasant. The garden had become her domain and she ran it well. There was such a riot of colours from the variety of flowers planted in the small space that it almost hurt to look at and a vegetable patch overflowed with bounty in one corner. The many fragrances of the flowers floated on the breeze but it was not overwhelming, simply refreshing. Butterflies danced across the grass and bees flitted from prize to prize, buzzing happily.

In all, it was perfect. A little utopia in their happy little corner of England, barely touched by the prying eyes of nosy people. A little muggle town sat a mile down the road and their closest neighbour was a field full of sheep. If he stood there long enough, Fred could easily pretend that they were the only people in the world.

Fred stood, as he always did at this time, on look-out for his love. She was due home any minute and he liked to be ready with a pot of tea. Sure enough a glint of gold crested the top of the hill beyond their home, bright hair catching in the sunlight.

Luna bounded down the hill, one arm raised in a delighted wave as she caught sight of her husband and Fred chuckled as he returned the wave. She was distracted again almost instantly, maybe by a bunny or a wounded mouse, or an interesting plant. He watched as she staggered drunkenly from side to side, but the only thing Luna was drunk on was life.

Fred couldn't help the feeling of hope and happiness that rose in his heart as his Luna looked up at him her eyes wide and brimming with excitement. Her mouth formed a perfect circular 'o' as she squealed at him brandishing the basket in his face. She hugged him tightly as soon as she reached him and though the embrace was as fleeting as her attention span it was filled with enough genuine love and happiness to fuel Fred for a lifetime.

He brought her inside and poured the well steeped tea into two mugs listening without hearing as Luna babbled on and on about her day. She needed no prompting and no encouragement to tell him with all the delight in the world about the creatures she met, those that she rescued and the interesting plants she came across.

Fred knew that his own day would pale in comparison and even then he would barely find time to edge a word in sideways, but that never bothered him. Fred had discovered the peaceful side to himself, absent of George and found that with Luna he was more than happy to sit back and just watch the life fizz and bubble within her.

She truly was a wonder.

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 **Please leave a review!**

 **Much Love, MaryandMerlin x**


	3. Secret

**Author's Note: It's getting quiet late but I can't sleep for worry about falling over on stage tomorrow and my connection to Pokémon Go! keeps failing so I managed to write this. I hope you enjoy it! It's also for a lot of different challenges! (Sorry)**

 **Prompts:**

 **The North American Song Contest:**

 **Maryland - Rainbow**

 **Pixel Dungeon:**

 **Quest: Write an angst/romance story**

 **Pirate Ship:**

 **Part 2: Fred/Hermione**

 **Chocolate Frog Card Challenge:**

 **Ignatia Wildsmith (Silver) - Use the floo network in your story**

 **Hogwarts Assignments:**

 **DADA: Write about trust between two people and only two people. Extra Prompts: (colour) red; (word) breathe; (emotion) frustration; (word) dare; (object) tissue**

 **Monthly One-Shot Exchange:**

 **July - Isaacswolfsbane: Fred/Hermione, Romance/Angst, (word) lovely, (dialogue) "What do you think you're doing?"**

 **Disclaimer:** **I don't own anything you recognise!**

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Secret

Hermione's head snapped up, her chestnut curls flying as her eyes widened in alarm. Across the room from the desk she was working at, the fire roared to life in a sickening green colour. She jumped from her seat in a frenzy, dashing to the small door that led into her little cubby and locking it. The fire through an eerie glow across the room and gloomy rainbows refracted from the crystal chandelier. Hermione fixed her eyes on the floo and pressed back against the door as if afraid someone would burst in behind her.

A tall, slender man stepped out of the flames. A wide smile painted his face as he saw Hermione. He stepped forward onto the plush, cream carpet and proceeded to shake the soot out of his bright hair.

"Fred! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Hermione whisper-screeched, rushing forward and pushing the laughing ginger back onto the fireplace, desperate to save her décor from ruin.

"Well, hello dear. It's lovely to see you too," Fred replied dryly as he stopped laughing. He smirked down at Hermione as she continued to fuss, pulling a tissue from the box on her desk and wiping at the stubborn soot that was stuck to his face.

"Will you be quiet?" she hissed, throwing a worried look at the still empty room. "Ginny is only next door."

Fred sighed, his typical cheeky mood dissipating as he brushed past Hermione and flopped into one of the plush, wing backed chairs that flanked the fireplace. "So what?" he mumbled sullenly, twisting at his fingers.

Hermione sighed as she looked down at him. All the tension and fight flopped out of her shoulders and her eyes softened. She moved to stand in front of her brooding lover and placed a gentle hand on his cheek, guiding his eyes up to hers. "You know what," she reminded softly, her voice laced with weary sadness.

Fred inhaled sharply through his nose, holding the breath for a short moment before exhaling violently. It was an answer he had been given time and again, and it had lost any satisfaction, but he nodded anyway. He knew, he even understood the reasons that kept their relationships in the shadows, but he didn't have to like it.

"I just wish I could tell George, at least. I wish it didn't have to be just our secret. I wish I could come in through the front door, rather than sneaking off to use the floo all the time. I want to tell the world, Hermione." He laced his pale fingers through her delicate ones and pulled her closer. She tumbled into his lap and he wrapped his arms around her, inhaling deeply. The feel and smell of her was a comfort in itself, but it still served to increase his frustration.

"Fred," she murmured softening into him. She curled herself around his torso, hiding in his neck from the pains and responsibilities of life. "You know what Ron would do, you know how he would react."

"I never thought my happiness would be subject to the psychotic whims of my little brother, Hermione. This isn't what I signed up for," he sat back forcing her from her hiding place and meeting her soft, chocolatey eyes. "I love you," he insisted fervently, "but you know it's not in my nature to hide who and what I am. Isn't that something you love about me?"

"Of course," Hermione insisted, her heart breaking at the lost look in his eyes. "You know that I love you, and that I want to be with you where all the world can see that I am the luckiest girl in the world-"

"Well then let's go out! We could do it now, get it over with. Fast and painless, like ripping off a plaster."

Hermione giggled, though it was a sound tinged with sadness. "You know it doesn't work like that Freddie. It's only been three months; it would kill him if he knew I left him for you."

"When, Hermione?" Fred asked desperately. "When will enough time have passed?"

She didn't meet his eyes, instead fiddling with the neckline of his t-shirt. Fred scanned her face, flushed red by the dancing light of the now normal coloured flames. He didn't dare speak or move, in case he spooked her.

When she had the courage Hermione met his stare and he could see the possibility lurking there, the desire for everything that he could give her if only they could trust someone other than each other. She opened her mouth and Fred felt his heart surge, but then her eyes shifted and the light died as she whispered a subdued:

"Soon."

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 **Please leave a review!**

 **Much Love, MaryandMerlin x**


	4. Civil War

**Author's Note: Okay, so this particular chapter is based on a Historical event, namely the Vietnam war. Now! Being from the UK we aren't taught about this so I really have no idea what happened. From what I have read on the internet, I have decided to go with the whole versus thing but no particulars. I don't really want to offend anyone and I have just written the chapter to the best of my ability. I'm not saying light side and dark side. I was just given the Vietnam War as one of my prompts and have tried to write it thusly!**

 **Prompts:**

 **Historical!AU Challenge:**

 **52\. Vietnam War**

 **Pixel Dungeon:**

 **Depth Three: This is a normal depth.**

 **Hogwarts Assignments:**

 **Muggle Studies: Write about two warring branches of the same family. Extra Prompts: (family) 2 branches of the Black family; (word) War; (word) Family; (emotion) Anger; (emotion) Determination**

 **Chocolate Frog Card Challenge:**

 **Wendelin the Weird (Silver) - Write about someone who enjoys giving or receiving pain.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise!**

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Civil War

Sirius knew, he had always known, that he was different. It was simply confirmed when he went to Hogwarts at the age of 11, that he did not belong in the Black family. Right now, in the midst of this 'family meeting', Sirius sat, sulking in the far corner of the front room of his childhood home. He ignored the assembled Blacks and stared hard at the muggles playing in the street, wishing, not for the first time, that he were one of them.

"Are you listening, boy?" his mother demanded, her haughty tone grating against his nerves. Sirius threw her a grimace in answer and returned to gazing out the window. It was almost impossible not to listen. Bellatrix stood, bright eyed and excitement, in the centre of the room. She, like the rest of Slytherin house, was being slowly brainwashed with a diet of hate, prejudice and cruelty all in the name of some guy calling himself _Lord Voldemort_.

"You should hear him," she gushed, looking more feminine than Sirius had ever seen her. Her eyes were feverish and she looked mad, as well as sounding it. "He is so charming, so willing, so inspiring. He talks of our freedom. He will lead the pureborn witches and wizards of this world out of the darkness muggles have cast over us and into our rightful places. We will once again stand united and crush those who dare to oppose us!"

Sirius looked towards his younger brother, Regulus. He sat on the edge of his seat, eyes bright and full of awe. He was half way to signing up for this army, and the boy was only 12. "I think he sounds like just the sort of leader we need, mama," Regulus pipes up. He sounds so young, so innocent.

"Yeah, he sounds like a real peach," Sirius muttered.

Walberga glared at her eldest son, but turned to smile proudly down at her youngest. "Thank Merlin one of my sons was born with sense! We need to crush these muggleborn upstarts now, whilst we can. They should be rounded up and killed, executed even. If this Voldemort has any sense himself he will make a spectacle of them, one I would be more than happy to attend."

Sirius listened, quietly, to the spew of violence and hatred tumbling from the lips of his family. Bellatrix was his biggest fan, and she was doing a fine job of convincing the rest. He could feel the shift in the air, when it became more than just talk. War was coming, bloodthirsty and devastating. He wasn't going to be forced one to the wrong side.

"You know," he said quietly stunning Bellatrix into silence. "I had hoped, once, to fit into this family, but as I sit here and listen to you talk about killing these human beings as if they were nothing more than flies I know that can never be. There is a better way, one without violence and hatred." Sirius laced his voice with quiet anger and determination and turned to look his mother in the eye. "You are selling your souls, and your sons, to the devil mother. Think about that."

He hadn't expected his words to have any affect, but he couldn't have lived with himself if he hadn't said something. Walberga opened her mouth and drew in a deep breath, no doubt ready to spew hatred and shame at him, but Sirius ignored her and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" she barked.

"Out, mother," he replied. "And I won't be coming back."

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 **Please leave a review!**

 **Much Love, MaryandMerlin x**


	5. Into the Spotlight

**Author's Note: Hey there! Just another quick chapter that I hope you all enjoy. I know these one shots keep bouncing all over the place but that is why it's in a collection!**

 **Prompts:**

 **Monopoly:**

 **Rose Weasley**

 **Fairytales Assignment:**

 **1\. Write about someone taking the place of another person, having bad intentions. (wc:800) Extra Prompts: (word) Exchange**

 **Pixel Dungeon:**

 **Depth 4 - This is a normal depth.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise!**

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Into the Spotlight

"Mrs Potter, we're ready for you now."

Rose, who had been staring gormlessly into the mirror in front of her, jerked to attention. Eyes wide like a frightened rabbit caught in the headlights she whirled to face the door where the studio attendant poked his head in. Impatience lit his eyes, contradicting the soft smile of his face and his foot tapped quickly on the floor. It was obvious he was expecting some sort of diva and really didn't have time to deal with any of her shit.

When he prompted her again Rose nodded absently and followed him out the door. She pulled at her hair with unfamiliar hands and was relieved to see that it was still long, straight and auburn rather than the riotous orangey curls she normally had to deal with. The polyjuice potion was still in effect.

Rose could feel the cold anger in her heart slowly being exchanged with a creeping sort of fear. She hadn't considered in her big, clever plan, that she was actually terrified of being the centre of attention. Just because she looked like her Aunt Ginny didn't mean she had any of the confidence. Once again her Weasley pride and been bruised and she had forsaken her mother's high road in favour of her father's irrational temper.

She could hear the loud, charismatic voice of the radio presenter booming as she was led down the black corridors of 'back-stage' as well as the answering cheers and murmurs from the crowd. Suddenly revenge didn't seem that important and she knew she was going to make a fool of herself and her Aunt anyway without even having to try.

She turned around to run away but her path was blocked by an army of crew. The attendant that had led her here babbled something at her so fast that she didn't catch a word and disappeared into the crowd. Rose tried desperately to calm her breathing and her racing heart but she couldn't dispel the sick, nervous feeling rising in her throat. The blood rushed so loudly in her ears that she almost missed her cue.

"Now, for out final guest of the evening, please welcome the Holyhead Harpies star seeker, the longest serving member of the team. She catches hearts as well as she catches snitches and the wife of none other than Harry Potter himself. Make some noise for, Ginny Potter!"

Rose stumbled forward in her fancy dress, trying not to trip in heels she wasn't accustomed too as she emerged on a brightly lit stage to the roar of applause. She squinted slightly, pausing for a moment as her senses were assaulted. The host, who had risen to greet her, ushered her over to the duo of sofas and she smiled brightly and waved slightly as she sat down smoothing her skirts around her. Drawing on all the poise and grace a Weasley had ever possessed she politely accepted the offered cocktail and took a genteel sip to wet her dry throat.

The ensuing interview went really well. It was a lot easier to relax into the role when she wasn't trying to sabotage her Aunt. She was witty and clever, polite and charming she had the host and the audience eating from the palm of her hand and she knew that in this night she had won over a few of her Aunt's noisiest critics.

It was the questions about her loud and boisterous family that Rose felt were the hardest to deal with. It was hard to recall the affection with which her Aunt Ginny dealt with all of her nieces and nephews without feeling overwhelmed by guilt. Why she had thought this was an appropriate way to react, she didn't know, but she knew now that she had to do everything she could to make things right, starting with absolutely acing this public appearance.

She felt pride and happiness swell within her as she rose and took a bow. The crowd adored her and she was ready to go home and beg for forgiveness but what had promised to be traumatic actually turned out to be a wonderful experience.

She turned to head into the back and froze. Her heart stopped and the breath caught painfully in her throat. She felt suddenly cold as the blood drained from her face and the noise of the crowd died into confusion around her. In the wings, just out of sight, stood a very irate redhead and her slightly bemused husband. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, her hair mussed and one perfect eyebrow was raised in question as her foot tapped impatiently on the floor. Beside her, Harry looked like he was trying not to laugh.

Rose had run out of time for excuses.

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 **Please leave a review!**

 **Much Love, MaryandMerlin x**


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